weighing in!

Down 2 more pounds!!

My personal trainer, Spencer, has helped me with walking longer distances so I am getting more exercise which is a good thing. I used to believe that the words exercise and sweat were four letter words... and my mama taught me better than to use four letter words!

We made it!!!

Spencer and I did our sermons today and it went very well!

For Spencer it was his first time speaking in public, his first time doing a sermon and he had to do it in front of our classmates who have all graduated from seminary and he just finished high school last month! Tom and I are so proud of him!

I am grateful to be at the end of this phase of language learning. Two weeks ago I was ready to quit school... I was the oldest person in my class and I was feeling it. I felt like my memory was not as good as my classmates and that I was never going to remember which cases went with which verbs and what ending to use for nouns or adjectives even after studying for two years!

I am grateful to Tom, for not letting me give up, to Joyce, Stephanie and Sveta who prayed me through this year of school, and above all to God for bringing me to a place of acceptance about my capabilities. Our teacher told us today that since she has been at the school we are the second class to make it all the way to lesson 125!! I am so glad to have stuck it out to the very end!

I am grateful for the lessons I have learned along the way... not just about the language and the culture but also about myself. One lesson that I can share is that I had been shying away from talking to certain women here out of fear. Last fall I invited this person over and we talked about the fact that she had not been in my house the entire time we have lived here. I realised that my fear was affecting our ability to bond with the very people we came here to help. After that I made it a point to speak to her every week at church, and then we attended a 5 week Bible study together and even a concert! I found out later that she thought I didn't talk to her because I couldn't speak Russian. Not true! I was just afraid to make a mistake or look stupid!

Our church family is so patient and loving with us... I don't even understand why I was afraid in the first place!

Anyway, Spencer and I are done with the first level of our Russian language learning. I am chilling here in the apartment with my wonderful, supportive, incredible husband, and Spencer is out painting the town with his friend Vlad!

Thought for Today

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

This is the verse I meditated on when I had my gallbladder surgery years ago... today it has been on my mind for my mother as she is experiencing some medical problems. I am waiting to hear the outcome of her procedure. Knowing that she is in God's righteous right hand is comforting.

Update:

I just received an email from my sister in law letting me know that my mother is doing well and does not need to have surgery... we are praising God for this wonderful news!

Pork Shashlik

Nathan called on Father's Day and we all got to spend time talking to him on the phone... it was wonderful and hard all at the same time!

Shashlik is one of Nathan's favorite Russian meals so when I saw this recipe I immediately thought of him!

This is one of the most classic Russian versions of shashlik (shish kabobs) and it is one of simplest and easiest recipes I have seen.

The meat is marinated in kefir... (kefir is like buttermilk)

Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus region of Russia and we are located not far from the Caucasus mountains.

Pork Shashlik in Kefir
1 kg lean pork (2.2 lbs)
6 onions
2 liters kefir (2 pints Buttermilk)
Salt
Pepper
Green parsley

Cut pork into cubes (5-6 cm). Slice onions. Place a layer of pork in a saucepan, follow with a layer of onion slices. Repeat layer by layer. Season each layer with salt, pepper and other spices. Pour in kefir and refrigerate overnight. Thread pork cubes onto skewers alternating with onions slices. Grill until light brown but still juicy.

You can find more Russian Recipes at: RusCuisine.com

give her five!

Congratulations to Sasha!!!

Sasha defended her thesis today and received the highest score possible! Grades here are given on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best. We are so proud of this young woman... she is an amazing person, a great language helper, and an incredible friend! She fits in very well with our family and if we could adopt her as our own own daughter we would!!

and on day four she finished writing!

Spencer and I are working on our final talks for the last lesson at our language school!

Tom has been cheering us on, advising us on scriptures, and helping us anyway he can. He has been good about making me go outside for a bit each day and take a break from all the writing. Today he made dinner! Which was quite a treat!

On Monday Sasha will look over our talks and help us with correctly pronouncing everything... it still helps me to place accent marks over the correct stress in a word! Sasha has been such a blessing to us... she makes sure that we are the ones figuring out for ourselves how to say things correctly and gently corrects us to keep us on the right track. For only being 24 her patience and wisdom amazes me!

Please keep Spencer, myself and our classmates, Blythe, Donnie and Sarah in your prayers as we each speak on our chosen topics Thursday in class.

This past month has been rough at school and I have tried not to complain. Each lesson was progressively more difficult than the one before and at times it felt as if we went from middle school to university in one lesson!

We have been told that not every class makes it to the end as we have. And I don't know if I should be happy about that or not!!!

weighing in!

My fear for this week was that I would gain weight... that didn't happen. Instead, the needle on the scale is not moving at all. I must have offended it again and it is giving me "the silent treatment"!

at the bus stop

Spencer, Sasha and I went out to buy tickets to Moscow today... but we couldn't get seats on the train that we wanted. We were told to come back next week to see if any tickets would be released.

Spencer suggested that we go out to Ikea. Sasha had not been there yet so she agreed to come with us. On the way out there as I was looking out the window I saw an old bus stop for people who live out in the village. Instead of people standing there waiting for the bus there was a herd of about 15 cows laying there waiting.

I wonder where they were going?

Thought for Today

Today I have a quote from a book by our friend Karla.



"Obsession is a jealous master, and it prevents us from managing our lives".

Karla Downing, author of 10 Lifesaving Principles for Women in Difficult Marriages.



Is there something that you are obsessing over that is consuming your thoughts more than God? We cannot serve two masters. Work on taking captive every thought and making it obedient to The Master!

photo op!

There is a large botanical garden just up the street from our apartment building... Tom and I enjoy walking through this park whenever we get a chance.








This particular day we saw a few cars decorated for a wedding... I liked this one the best!!

finding crosses

My friend Sasha was looking out our living room window and noticed what she thought was a cross in the window of an apartment building across the field from our building.

Upon closer inspection it is not an actual cross but a reflection from the frame of the window onto the balcony door.

We love finding crosses like this... they are signs from God located in unexpected places!

weighing in!

This has been one of the most challenging weeks to be watching what I eat! I successfully managed to fight off the urge to "stress eat", which I have been known to do when we have a lot going on. And that lead to the loss of 1 pound this week!

Yesterday, we had an end of the school year barbecue and there was so much good food it was hard to restrain myself!! Don made a Key Lime pie, which is my favorite... I did acquiesce to one small sliver and really took the time to savor that treat!

Many years ago I realised that I am a binge eater... or at least I used to be. I would binge and then fast as a way to lose weight.

I very clearly remember the first diet I ever went on. I was 17 years old and needed to lose 20 pounds because I was a contestant in the Miss Wichita Pageant and the coach we had told me that I would do better in the swimsuit and evening gown events if I lost twenty pounds. I weighed 125lbs. and thought I was VERY overweight! So after talking with a few friends of mine I chose to eat every other day and I lost 20 pounds in two weeks.

Twelve years after that, in 1992 I read an article in the LA Times about bulimia. I always thought that bulimics were bingers and purgers. Wrong. Bulimics are also bingers and fasters... and that was me.

I can say honestly that for the past 16 years I have not fasted as a way to lose weight. I only fast if I feel that it is for a spiritual purpose. I am committed to eating when I am hungry and only normal sized portions. This is not always easy to do but I don't have to feel deprived of eating things like Key Lime Pie if I control the portion size. Healthy eating along with moderate exercise is something I can do as a way of life and not feel as if I am on a diet!

If you or anyone you know has problems with overeating or has a difficult relationship with food there is a 12 step group that can help... http://www.oa.org

Brain overload...

This week our class has moved into preparations for our final lesson. The men have to preach and the women are to give a Bible lesson. Our most recent assignment was to write a lesson on one of the 10 commandments.

Each of us spent time with our bibles, dictionaries working out our thoughts in Russian and putting them to paper. My classmates and I all agreed that this is very draining.

Personally, I felt physically drained when I was done with this assignment. I could not think, my arms ached and I just wanted to veg! Spencer finished typing his and he is off to bed... he said he felt weak and needed to rest.

It is amazes me that when we are called upon to use "maximum brain power" it affects us not just mentally but physically!

Thought for Today

Today's quote was found in a book that I have been reading during my daily commute to the language school. In Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge these words stood out to me this week:

"Security is not found in the absence of danger, but in the presence of Jesus".

Jeanine, missionary in Columbia


As I read these words I immediately thought of my signature at the bottom of my emails:
Safe in His Hands,

Live Language!!

One of the new verbs that we learned this week is one that means to reap, cut or mow. It is also used for shaking hands or for saying that a piece of clothing is very tight and is squeezing you!

Today I heard this verb used on the bus.

There was a woman behind me who was quite upset with the lady who sat down beside her. She accused her of squeezing! Her seatmate was quite indignant in her response to the accusation.... curtly replying she did no such thing.

Even thought I knew that both the ladies behind me were upset with one another... I was thrilled to have understood the conversation!!

how high would you climb?

"Alida come here and look at this!"

Tom called me to come over to our balcony... there were two boys up in the tree literally right outside our window. No big deal you might say. Except that we live on the fourth floor!!!

The tree is a cherry tree. One of the boys was stuffing cherries into his pockets as he climbed from limb to limb. The other one, Vladik, was eating them! We know who Vadik is because he introduced himself to Spencer shortly after we moved here. Vladik is an amazing boy. He has one arm and never lets that stop him from doing anything... even climbing 4 stories up a cherry tree!

Vladik is also the polite one... he yelled "hi" to Tom as he took a break from eating his cherries!

Orange County dreaming!

Ok, so being from Orange County I am estatic about my results!

Orange County

You're rich, pretty, and living a charmed life. (Or you seriously wish you were.) From Disneyland to Laguna Beach, you're all about living the California dream life. Just make sure to marry rich - so you don't have to work for it!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

weighing in!

I am so excited to be getting closer to my goal!! I read an article a month ago about weight loss being connected to getting enought sleep. In addition to eating less and moving more I am also sleeping more.

Thought for Today

Now that last week's toilet crisis is behind me, I am back to meditating on various quotes... and here is my choice for this week!



A faith is that which is able to survive a mood.
G.K. Chesterton



Meditate with me on that for a bit, and ask yourself "is my faith dependent on my mood?"

not much going on...

If I were running a news desk I would have to say that today is a slow news day!

We were all moving slow today... I was in bed most of the day with fibromyalgia pain. I did get up to meet with Sasha for my language helper session. She explained the grammar I most likely missed in class today.

Tom popped popcorn for me and we watched a few movies... he and Spencer both went out for a bit to do some shopping.

Yep, I was right, it is definitely a slow news day!

Eurovision 2008

I didn't get to see this year's show and I am bummed about that. This year's winner is from Russia!!

You can read more here and watch a video! http://www.eurovision2008.org/


Back in 2006 when I did watch the whole night... Dima came in second to Lordi. From all the coverage they have done of this on the news, it seemed to be a bigger victory than Russia winning at soccer!

weighing in!

This is the second week in a row that we had birthday party food on Thursday. Yesterday, I baked four homemade pizzas and a birthday cake and today I weighed in... thankfully, I am down a pound so I didn't suffer too much!

Spencer, Happy 18th Birthday!

We are very proud of the mature young man that Spencer is. He walks with the Lord, he is a great friend, an incredible hugger, has an infectious laugh and a heart of gold!

all is well!

Yesterday I called Kolya to see if he could come by and work on the toilet... it would either not stop running or it wouldn't flush. Tom was fixing it just about every other day.

At first Kolya said that Friday was the soonest he could get here. He surprised me this morning with a phone call saying that he would be in our area today and could come over after 4 o'clock. He was able to replace the flushing mechanism and now it works like a charm. He even bargained at the market for a fairly large discount on the part!

When we paid him for his labor he told us it was too much... but we felt like the work he did was priceless!! In America we would have paid at least 100 dollars just for the service call. We paid Kolya 40$ and it was worth every penny.

plumbing woes

Our toilet is on the fritz again... this is not a fun cultural experience! Last year it was several weeks before we were able to get everything taken care of. I have calls to make this afternoon to see if we can get someone here soon. My prayer is that someone will be here tomorrow!

mondays...

It is always hard getting back into the swing of school after a weekend of working. Where did our weekend go!?

Tom started another three week Saturday session. His new topic is Optimal Relationships. We were excited to see so many young couples in attendance!

We paid for advertisements to go up on all the bus stops in two different regions here in the city. We don't know how successful that will be in bringing new people to Tom's seminars but since the cost was only 8 dollars for 2 weeks it won't hurt us if it doesn't pan out!

Sunday was the Christian Recovery meeting and that went well... the guys from the rehab center were back in attendance but the AA guys were not there! Hopefully, we can get them all together one of these Sundays!

Today there is a meeting for those interested in working with MOPS here in Krasnodar. Unfortunately, I cannot attend. I have to make finishing school and working with Tom my first priority right now!

weighing in!

This morning I was a little nervous approaching my scale... I was not sure if it was going to continue being so nice to me. I am excited that despite having birthday food yesterday, I still managed to lose 2 pounds!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Tom and Spencer took me out to dinner and to see Prince Caspian! I thought it was very kind of Walt Disney and Walden Media to have the movie open here in Russia on my 45th birthday… it was truly a treat!







I am so grateful to my friends for all the calls, emails, text messages, gifts and well wishes today. I was overwhelmed and had a few moments of happy tears and some belly laughs thrown in throughout the day!

A traditional Russian birthday greeting is to congratulate you, and then tell you all the wonderful things they can think of to wish for you in the coming year. I heard some of the most beautiful wishes today from our Russian friends. Even one of Spencer’s friends called me. He is so sweet. He had worked out what he wanted to say and did it all in English perfectly!

Thought for Today

The soul needs an intense, full bodied spiritual life
as much as and in the same way that the body needs food.
Thomas Moore


Amen!

Natural Disasters

When Sasha arrived today I had the news on TV... they were showing the devastation from the earthquake in China.

We ended up having a discussion on earthquakes in California. I explained to her what it felt like when I experienced my first one and the damage that I have seen close up. We then went on to discuss tornadoes!

I am grateful to be at a point in language acquisition where I can have these types of conversations. She taught me a few new words which I need to write down before I forget. Whenever I don't know a word I just describe it and then Sasha is great at telling me what the word is!

After that we actually had a discussion pertaining to my current lesson... we talked about the Fine Arts; theatre, ballet, music and artwork.

Earthquakes to artwork in two hours time!

Sunday's news...

Yesterday was our second Christian Recovery meeting!

We had a completely different turnout than we did last week. This time the men from the recovery house were working in another city and were not there. However, there were people in attendance from AA along with a few leaders from our church.

Tom did a magnificent job teaching on the topic of powerlessness from his series "Spiritual Kindergarten". We had a time for sharing personal experiences and/or impressions, a short break for tea followed by a time for prayer requests, and then prayer as a group.

A few of people who attended are not church goers, and at least one of them is not a believer… couple of them believe in God but, don’t know much about Jesus. We are grateful that they chose to come and take part in this meeting. One of the new guys asked if he could bring his wife next week!

We are excited about the growth and development of this group!

Victory Day

Yesterday was Victory Day here in Russia. We watched the Moscow parade on tv and saw all the soldiers, tanks and airplanes... maybe being an Air Force brat has me spoiled, but my favorite part is always the fly over!



We celebrated Friday's holiday by going to an art museum with friends and hanging out for the day.

Today Spencer went out shopping with his friend Vlad, and I spent most of the day laying down resting while Tom was getting ready for his upcoming seminar and for speaking tomorrow night at the Recovery meeting.

weighing in!

I am excited about losing 2 pounds this week! I don't have much to share about how I did it... just eating less and moving more. That is what seems to work best for me!